In the News

SEC Agrees to FINRA’s BrokerCheck Change on Posting Firings

December 1, 2015

By Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor

FINRA will reduce from 15 days to three the release of disclosure information filed on Form U5

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved Monday the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s plan to reduce from 15 days to three the release of disclosure information filed on Form U5 through BrokerCheck.

Firms use Form U5 to terminate broker registrations with self-regulatory organizations and the states.

Most of the information that FINRA releases through BrokerCheck generally is made available the day after it is filed with the Central Registration Depository system.

FINRA’s Rule 8312, however — which governs the information FINRA releases to the public via BrokerCheck — provided for a 15-day delay in disclosing terminations.

Stifel CEO wants better results from Sterne Agee’s independent B-D business

November 6, 2015

By Bruce Kelly, Investment News

Stifel Financial Corp. completed its acquisition of regional brokerage firm Sterne Agee Group Inc. in June, and now Stifel’s CEO and co-chairman Ron Kruszewski is looking for better performance out of the independent brokerage side of the business.

He made that clear in a conference call with analysts Wednesday to review the firm’s third-quarter earnings. When discussing Stifel’s global wealth management group, he said: “The margins were lower than last year due to the independent contractors from Sterne Agee, who operate at lower margins than our traditional wealth management business.”

Later in the call, in response to an analyst’s question,